KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) – Commonwealth leaders met in Rwanda on Friday for a summit that pledges to address climate change, tropical diseases and other issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Commonwealth Heads of State Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, was the culmination of a series of meetings that reported some progress in efforts to improve people’s lives in a bloc of 54 countries with a population of 2.5. billion people.
These numbers should increase with the expected entry into the Community of Togo and Gabon, African countries willing to join the bloc despite Britain’s lack of colonial history. The Commonwealth is mostly made up of former British colonies, but countries like Mozambique and Rwanda, a former Belgian colony with an Anglophile leader, have in the past given the title Queen Queen II. They made successful attempts to join the group that became Elizabeth.
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The fact that Rwanda is hosting the summit is controversial for some, citing the country’s poor reputation for human rights in East Africa under Paul Kagame, an authoritarian leader who became the de facto leader or president after the genocide in 1994. What they see as an illegal and brutal deal in the UK to transport immigrants thousands of miles to Rwanda. This deal faces legal hurdles and the first batch of immigrants has yet to reach Rwanda.
World leaders attending the Kigali summit ranged from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who led the Conservative Party, whose voters rejected the party’s candidates in two snap elections the other day, is also in Rwanda.
Prince Charles presented his mother, who at the age of 96 limited her official duties.
KIGALI, RUANDA – JUNE 24: (from left) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland and Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah attend the inauguration ceremony of the Commonwealth Presidents. Meeting of the government at the conference in downtown Kigali on June 24, 2022, in Kigali, Rwanda. Commonwealth leaders meet every two years at the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM), hosted alternately by the various member states. A total of 24 meetings have been held since 1971, most recently in the UK in 2018. (Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Other meetings on the sidelines of the summit reported some progress on key issues such as managing climate change and tackling deadly diseases.
More than $4 billion was released on Thursday for a global effort to accelerate the fight against malaria and other neglected tropical diseases. The money will come from governments, philanthropists and other members of the private sector. In addition, pharmaceutical companies donated 18 billion pills to prevent and treat these diseases.
Observers say fundraising marks a significant achievement, as malaria is Africa’s leading killer.
Dr. Franziska Olamiju, head of a Nigerian NGO that advocates for the poor, told the AP she hopes a large meeting will be held to support campaigns against tropical diseases.
He said world leaders need to “keep talking” and mobilize more resources for the cause.
The summit also calls for more action on climate change ahead of the United Nations climate change summit in Egypt this year.
Commonwealth leaders are preparing to use the long-awaited Living Soils Convention, an action plan to tackle climate change, land degradation and biodiversity loss. The charter aims to achieve climate goals through a combination of political influence, funding, technical assistance, management and information sharing between countries.
Commonwealth governments have been asked to submit their emissions reduction targets by September 23.
About 32 members of the Commonwealth are small states, 25 of which are small islands and developing states classified as vulnerable to climate change.
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